This is interesting.....Stolwyk posted this under ASX -...

This is interesting.....Stolwyk posted this under ASX - General....it's from Mining News.


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http://www.mining-journal.com/Breaking_News.aspx?breaking_news_article_id=2662


Bolivia to make mining firms sign JVs


Bolivia`s mining minister Luis Alberto Echazu
Bolivia will no longer grant concessions to mining firms under a decree issued by the leftist government this month, instead making them sign joint-venture deals with the state, the country`s mining minister said.

The decree signed by President Evo Morales on May 1 means foreign miners wanting to explore or mine land in the mineral-rich South American nation will have to negotiate joint-venture contracts with state-run mining firm Comibol.

"What has been modified are the future concessions, they are going to have to sign a contract with Comibol. We`re not going to grant private concessions," mining minister Luis Alberto Echazu told Reuters in an interview.

However, he said the government would respect existing existing concessions and the investments made by mining firms already operating in the country.

"Those who are already working in the country, wil continue working (under) the same (conditions)," Echazu said.

Foreign mining companies with projects in Bolivia include US-based Apex Silver Mines Ltd and Coeur d-Alene Mines Corp. They are due to start production at large silver mines over the next year.

Several Canadian companies also have assets in Bolivia, including Eaglecrest Explorations, Apogee Minerals Ltd and Orvana Minerals Corp, and investors have been jittery as the government slowly unveils plans to overhaul the mining industry.

Morales nationalised the poor country`s vast natural gas reserves last year, and now implementing a series of reforms to reap more benefits from its significant deposits of tin, zinc, wolfram, lead, silver and gold.

Earlier this month, a senior mining official said the government planned to introduce a new 10% tax on profits, in a bid to raise the tax burden on miners to 50% of net profit, from the current 35%.